


Fighting Boy Meets Boy

by rinnenotsubasa



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Ambiguous/Open Ending, Kinda, Mercenaries, Multi, awkward military boy chan, bickering wonhao, but not a normal high school life, but still readable as oneshot, wonu being unabashedly gay
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-21
Updated: 2020-09-21
Packaged: 2021-03-06 14:11:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,345
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26440165
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rinnenotsubasa/pseuds/rinnenotsubasa
Summary: Sergeant Lee Chan was assigned by Svalinn to go undercover in a South Korean high school and protect a student named Boo Seungkwan. But just because he’s 17 years old, it didn’t mean Chan would have it easy disguising himself as an ordinary high school student.
Relationships: Boo Seungkwan/Lee Chan | Dino, Jeon Wonwoo & Lee Chan | Dino, Jeon Wonwoo/Xu Ming Hao | The8
Comments: 2
Kudos: 41
Collections: A Sip of Summer Wine





	Fighting Boy Meets Boy

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by a tweet by incorrect wonu which I lost the link but basically it says 
> 
> wonwoo: remember what i told you, chan. the way to a man’s heart is…
> 
> chan: through the fourth and fifth ribs.
> 
> When developing the plot, I thought of one of my favorite series of all time, Full Metal Panic! I absolutely love this series since the first time I watched the anime in 2002 or 2003. Since then I’ve collected and read the novels that became the base for the anime adaptation.
> 
> ANYWAY, what I took from FMP! is the premise of a teenage boy who’s been living all his life as a soldier, now works in a covert military organization, and is assigned to disguise himself as an ordinary high school student and protect a civilian: a classmate who has a mysterious power that makes them wanted by evil organizations. Some characters in this fic have roles and relationship dynamics similar to FMP! but I took the liberty to alter their personalities and life background to make them unique. 
> 
> I also shamelessly took the title from the title of FMP! first novel which is originally "Fighting Boy Meets Girl."
> 
> I did intend this to be an open ending from the start, but my initial plan was for a oneshot of AT LEAST 20K+. Since I’m being greedy and joined several fic fests at a time, I could only write slightly more than half of this story. Finally I decided to edit the fic as a shorter stand-alone story. Hopefully it’s still enjoyable!

When Boo Seungkwan said, “Are you sure you’re a high school student?”, Lee Chan thought with dread that his cover for the past 6 months was getting blown by a civilian. In Chan’s 7 year career as a dog of war (more than a decade if including his days as child soldier in Russia), this was his biggest crisis yet. For Sergeant Lee Chan to jeopardize a mission because he couldn’t act like a normal South Korean high school student… What a disgrace.

While Chan was operating his brain to think of a solution, Seungkwan continued to walk and say, “You didn’t even know Kakao Talk.” The 17-year-old boy shot a tired gaze at Chan, but there’s a hint of fondness in those brown orbs. Suddenly the autumn air felt warmer on Chan’s skin.

Removing his attention from Seungkwan’s eyes, Chan kept his steady steps and merely shrugged in response to Seungkwan’s remark. It’s okay, Chan thought. Seungkwan didn’t have a clue. False alarm. He was just talking about Chan’s initial lack of knowledge in South Korea’s most widely used chatting application. 

“I know that you lived in England before this,” Seungkwan gave him a small understanding smile. “But don’t you have apps similar to KaTalk there? I mean, how do you contact your friends from your previous school?” There’s no judgement in Seungkwan’s gaze and voice, only curiosity and maybe a bit of concern. That and the content of Seungkwan’s question itself made Chan be at loss for an answer. 

Chan wasn’t really from England. He’s originally from Russia, probably born from a pair of North Koreans who were brought to the country to be slaves, Chan never really knew nor cared. All that mattered for him was that he spent the first 10 years of his life in Russia doing whatever he could to survive and, just like the other kids around him, fighting wars became his main means of livelihood. 

His skills as a child soldier helped when he was recruited into the Tactical Division of Svalinn, a covert, non-governmental military organization which was active in preventing and resolving acts of terrorism. Now a 17-year-old, Chan had become a master of various martial arts, weapons, and combat strategy. 

Unfortunately, his years of experience didn’t prepare him to disguise as an ordinary high school boy. When Seungkwan first asked him his KakaoTalk ID, Chan looked at Seungkwan as if the other boy had just mentioned a new, advanced technology. Chan had never used such a messaging application filled with moving illustrations and other seemingly unnecessary features, having only communicated with his colleagues in Svalinn through a private communication system.

And as for “friends from previous school”, Chan simply didn’t know how to answer. The school history in his documents was forged by Svalinn and he had never attended any formal education institution. He’s also not sure that he even had any friends. Chan saw many of his fellow soldiers in Svalinn as more than co-workers and he’s certain that they shared the same notion, considering what they all had been through together. He also had two people he considered as family, despite not being related by blood. But there’s no one he could confidently state as friends in a sense that applied to Seungkwan. 

“Just calls,” Chan answered, hoping that it would suffice. It was a relief that Seungkwan didn’t seem to doubt his words.

Seungkwan didn’t drop the topic completely though. “Well.. you’re better with the app now.” There were blush on his well rounded cheeks, and somehow that made Chan want to both gaze at him and look away. 

Since finding out that Chan had never used KakaoTalk, Seungkwan taught him how to make an account and used the app. Chan had some knowledge in (military) softwares so he was quick to figure out the considerably simpler piece of technology. However, he had yet to master the more intuitive aspects of the app’s usage, such as selecting topics for the message, manners in replying to a chat, choosing the emoticon and sticker. 

For now Chan knew that Seungkwan wouldn’t pester him if he didn’t reply for a whole day, but longer than that (when Chan took several days off school to conduct other missions for Svalinn) Seungkwan would send him a message to check on him. Seungkwan also liked to send him random info about his day, aside from things at school because they’re classmates and spent many hours in a day being together (Chan made sure Seungkwan was always within his range of observation). 

And on the weekends Seungkwan would sometimes send Chan photos of the things he found or enjoyed, unaware that Chan already knew them because Chan’s mission to protect Seungkwan had no weekend holiday. Yet somehow Chan felt pleasant receiving the messages and photos. They even prompted this feeling of wanting to share something with Seungkwan too. Like the scenery of the beautiful sunrise from Chan’s apartment balcony, or the dishes Wonwoo and Minghao cooked every night. 

This weekend Seungkwan’s plan was to indulge himself and be lazy after a week full of school assignments and choir practice. He asked Chan what his plans were and Chan had to make up something on the spot, which he sucked on. Hiding his internal panic, he blurted out a lie about doing a big cleaning all over his apartment and just stayed home. Seungkwan didn’t seem to doubt his words, although there was certainly something in the way Seungkwan hummed an acknowledgement.

Their steps finally took them to the road between two apartment buildings. Before turning to the building on the right, Seungkwan said, “See you tomorrow, Chan” with a heartfelt smile. For a few seconds after Seungkwan left, Chan stood there looking at the direction of the apartment entrance, basking in the fact that he had someone to say “see you tomorrow” to, as if he’s not faced with the possibility of dying on a mission every single day.

  
  


*****

  
  
Chan entered the building across Seungkwan’s apartment and headed to the 7th floor, the same level as Seungkwan’s. Having a mission to protect Seungkwan, of course Chan got a room with a favorable range of view to Seungkwan’s room. 

There was a sound of ongoing bickering when Chan opened the door to his room. It was none other than Jeon Wonwoo and Xu Minghao, Chan’s colleagues. They didn’t bother to check who just got through the entrance, probably because they had Chan’s location and already knew Chan was heading to their temporary base.

The Chinese-born Minghao was standing in the kitchen with a spatula in his right hand. He turned his head and paused midway in his ranting towards Wonwoo to give Chan a greeting. “Welcome back, Channie,” the 26-year-old said with a smile before turning his face back to glare at the man standing in front of him. His silver hair was usually parted in the middle, but right now it’s a mess, the long bangs pulled to the top of his head, a sign that Minghao had spent the last few minutes ruffling it in frustration.

In front of Minghao, Wonwoo ran his fingers to the back of his own neck, only to stop after a few strokes. It seemed that Wonwoo was still not used to having his hair short enough to bare his nape. The 27-year-old had to cut his hair short and changed the color from light purple back to black. They couldn’t have him posing as a Social Studies teacher in Seungkwan’s school with the looks of an idol group member. Together with Chan, he protected Seungkwan at school, though with a bit more distance compared to Chan who’s acting as a classmate. The fake teacher always came back from school earlier than Chan because he was good at completing teacher assignments before the end of school hour and worked his charms to avoid the occasional drinking invitation from other teachers, only attending twice in the first three months of his assignment to Pledis High School. 

It’s not the first time Chan witnessed Wonwoo and Minghao arguing over nothing so he left them be and went to a desk at one side of the room, where a laptop was placed. He turned it on and moved his fingers to type his report for today's mission, Wonwoo and Minghao's bickering as the background music. It didn't take him long to turn the laptop off again. When he left the desk and headed to the dining table, their dinner was ready. Wonwoo and Minghao were sitting next to each other, scowls on their foreheads. Yet Chan was not worried the slightest. The fact that the two older guys effectively prepared dinner despite arguing all the time, and the way neither of them scoot away when there’s barely any space between their elbows,  it’s an ordinary day in their undercover life.

“By the way, Chan,” Wonwoo looked at him from across the table with a serious gaze. Seeing that made Chan’s heart skip a beat. Could it be information on the enemy? Are they finally here to kidnap Seungkwan? The possibilities popped up in Chan’s head and made his stomach twist in an excruciating way.

“You need to step up your game,” Wonwoo continued. His stern gaze was still there, signaling that he’s not joking. But Chan had a difficult time understanding where this conversation was going.

“Did I miss the enemy?” The twisting in Chan’s stomach got worse as his mind was filled with various hypotheses on what he could have done wrong. Did he fail to notice the presence of an enemy stalking Seungkwan? Chan barely left Seungkwan’s side the whole day but it’s not like they’re handcuffed together. Could it be that someone had approached Seungkwan when he’s in choir practice and put a bug on him? Chan was watching the choir practice the whole time and didn’t see anyone suspicious… Did he make a mistake?

Chan waited with apprehension as he saw Wonwoo taking a gulp of water. Then finally, Wonwoo said, “You should’ve asked him out.”

“Huh?”

At Chan’s dumbfounded response, Wonwoo gave a tired sigh. “‘Do you have anything to do this Sunday?’ is definitely an invitation.” The older man shook his head with another exaggerated sigh before turning towards Minghao on his left. “Why is he like this?”

Minghao didn’t hold back when glaring at Wonwoo. “Well why didn’t you educate him with your casanova ways.” The sarcasm in his voice was clear.

“Why me?”

“You know him the longest.”

“You’re our superior, isn’t his education supposed to be  _ your _ responsibility?”

The nausea Chan felt from imagining danger approaching Seungkwan was now replaced with irritation towards his seniors. “What the hell are you talking about?” he cut in impatiently.

“Language,” Minghao told him off without much reprimand in his voice. It’s only been 2 years since Minghao joined Svalinn’s Tactical division in the West Pacific fleet and became the leader of Chan’s squad, but within the short time Chan had never seen Minghao mind much about seniority outside the context of work. The only person Minghao ever truly got angry for talking back or using rude words with him was Wonwoo.

So Chan knew that Minghao wasn’t really angry with him but decided to play along. “What are you talking about, Sergeant Major Xu Minghao and Sergeant Jeon Wonwoo?” he rephrased his question.

“Seungkwan,” Wonwoo answered Chan’s question. “He asked you your plans for this weekend, right?”

Chan blinked once while his brain recalled a memory of his conversations with Seungkwan on their way home from school today. Indeed, Seungkwan did ask him about it. Wonwoo and Minghao knew because a part of their job was listening to their conversation and being ready whenever Chan needed back up. However, Chan had no idea what he did wrong.

“Yes, and I said I’m staying home.”

“He went quiet after that,” Wonwoo continued. “Did he look flustered or contemplating?”

Once again Chan blinked his eyes as he tried to remember. “Yes, it can be assumed from the way he was biting his lips and gazing down to his feet.”

While Wonwoo shook his head with fake disappointment, Minghao spoke to Chan. The sergeant major had a small smile on his face. “In that kind of situation you should take the initiative and ask him to go out together.”

A question mark popped up in Chan’s head. “Why? On the weekends I can protect him from afar as usual.”

Minghao’s smile was still on his face but now he’s closing his eyes as if his eyelids were heavy with pity and sadness. Chan really had no idea why his senior was acting like this and it’s starting to annoy him. He really thought that Seungkwan was in danger so what’s this all about??

“It’s killing two birds with one stone, you virgin,” Wonwoo chimed in.

Judging from the tone and situation, it seemed that Wonwoo meant his last words to be an insult. Even though Chan didn’t feel offended, he thought he should inform Wonwoo about what his classmate Park Jimin had shared with him. Wonwoo was the comrade who’s associated with Chan the longest, and Chan would even say he’s like family, so it’s better to speak up for Wonwoo’s sake. 

“Jimin told me while it’s not exactly rare to insult someone for being virgin, it should not be normalized as it’s as rude as shaming someone for being sexually active.”

“Dear Jimin is a smart girl but that’s not the point,”  Wonwoo quickly dismissed him. “The point is Seungkwan was too shy to ask you out on a date and you didn’t do anything about it.”

While Chan admitted that he’s not the smartest person in his fleet, he had never thought he’d ever feel like the dumbest before this conversation. Every time Wonwoo tried to give him an answer he kept getting more confused.

“Why does Seungkwan want to go on a date with me?”

Wonwoo shut his eyelids with force, somehow giving Chan a sense of déjà vu. A few minutes ago Chan saw a similar sight on Minghao’s face.

In the end Chan’s question was left unanswered. It seemed that both of his seniors thought it was too troublesome to explain it to him. Chan didn’t mind. He had more important things to talk about.

“Any news from Intelligence?” Chan asked as he brought his chopsticks to his mouth.

Wonwoo was the one who responded. His voice was free from amusement, it was his work tone. “Not a word.” He sounded unsatisfied and Chan could relate.

“They’re not going to tell us anything,” reminded Minghao gently, as if trying to pacify his two subordinates.

“So we’ll just continue to conduct this bodyguard mission without knowing the threat.” Wonwoo scoffed, but gave Minghao a sorry look when Minghao looked at him in the eyes. It’s not Minghao’s fault that they’re not informed about the organization targeting Boo Seungkwan. Both Wonwoo and Chan knew that Minghao had filed official complaints to their superiors about this, stating that he had the right to know about what kind of danger he’s putting his subordinates into. But the higher-ups never changed their decision and stayed quiet. They didn’t even tell them what was it about this ordinary high school student that required him to be protected by a secret military organization. 

After 6 months disguising himself as a high school student and interacting with Seungkwan to protect the boy, Chan still couldn’t figure out what would be the merit of targeting Seungkwan. And neither Wonwoo nor Minghao. 

However, it seemed that Wonwoo was sure about one thing.

“It’s him,” Wonwoo stated without a doubt, which drew a long sigh from Minghao and a scowl from Chan. There was no need to mention names at this point because Wonwoo had been trying for ages to convince them that a certain someone was involved with their current enemy.

Chan waited until Wonwoo met his gaze and said, “We need real proof it’s Jeonghan.” 

Wonwoo flinched at his words like it’s a reflex. It’s been like this whenever they’re talking about Jeonghan. He would blatantly show revulsion at the mention of Jeonghan’s name and insisted on referring to Jeonghan only with vague words like “him” or “that person.”

Not bothering to hide the disgust in his voice, Wonwoo turned to a tired-looking Minghao, “So we can get our whole fleet  _ finally  _ treating him as a real threat. Also his whereabouts.”

Chan could sympathize with Wonwoo. Two years had passed since Yoon Jeonghan, former Lieutenant Commander in Svalinn’s West Pacific fleet, betrayed the organization and almost obliterated their entire fleet. Chan could still remember the slight curving up on the edges of Jeonghan’s lips as the then 40-year-old escaped their destroyed base with the enemy's helicopter. The image was as vivid as if it happened yesterday. Chan thought he would never forget it, just like he wouldn’t forget the small curve of Jeonghan’s lips and his extended left hand reaching towards the 10-year-old Chan when the older male found him injured in a battlefield in Russia. It baffled Chan that the small smile Jeonghan showed on the day Jeonghan rescued him 7 years ago appeared the same as the day Jeonghan betrayed him 2 years ago.

He believed Wonwoo was also not forgetting it. After all, Wonwoo was present on both occasions. Chan wondered if Jeonghan also showed the same smile when Wonwoo met Jeonghan for the first time, one year before finding Chan and recruiting him into Svalinn. Wonwoo had told the first meet story to Chan before, mentioning how he was wandering aimlessly in town after graduating high school and got caught in a terrorist attack. How mysterious soldiers came to save the civilians and fight the terrorists. How he almost died when fighting a terrorist who tried to shoot an innocent woman. How it was the terrorist who dropped dead instead of him, thanks to Jeonghan’s precise shoot. How Wonwoo found his life purpose when Jeonghan offered him training as a military soldier, which he later found out (after passing several stages of training and background check) was not for the South Korean national army but a covert military organization not belonging to any country.

Chan knew many details about Wonwoo and Jeonghan’s first meeting, and thought he understood what Wonwoo felt about it. But Wonwoo had not mentioned whether Jeonghan smiled or not that time. Now Yoon Jeonghan was a taboo topic aside from discussing him as a latent threat to Svalinn, so Chan couldn’t ask. It didn’t matter anyway. There’s no use in reminiscing the good memories you had with your current enemy.

“Stop jumping into conclusions,” Minghao said, interrupting Chan’s train of thought. “Yoon Jeonghan might not be involved.” Chan didn’t take Minghao’s argument as a defense for Jeonghan. Minghao had been serving the Indian Ocean fleet and just transferred into the West Pacific shortly after Jeonghan left. The two didn’t have any contact or commonality, and there’s no reason for Minghao to defend a traitor. So Chan simply took Minghao’s words as well-intentioned concern towards his emotional subordinates.

“We don’t have definite proof and much details, but he’s definitely involved,” said Wonwoo with a confident tone. “Ruka told me.”

Minghao raised an eyebrow at the mention of Kyomoto Ruka. His tone was full of suspicion as he said, “And why would a staff member of the Intelligence Division tell you classified information that his superiors refused to tell us?” 

Wonwoo replied after chewing and gulping down a bite of meat. “Because we slept together years ago and he wouldn’t lie to me. He would’ve said nothing if he couldn’t give the right tip.”

While Chan nodded in acknowledgement, Minghao twisted his mouth like he wanted to gag. Being ignored by Wonwoo who continued to enjoy his dinner, Minghao spat, “Why don’t you ask Ruka for more details then?”

“He won’t tell more unless I sleep with him again,” Wonwoo explained casually as he chewed. 

Chan detected something else than disgust in Minghao’s next words, although he couldn’t really put a word for it.

“So? Isn’t it a win-win for you?” Minghao huffed as he turned his face back to his own plate. 

For a while nobody spoke a word. The silence was finally broken a few minutes later by Wonwoo. He didn’t turn his head to look at Minghao, kept moving his hand and jaws to enjoy his meal. “You want me to sleep with him?” Wonwoo’s voice sounded somewhat robotic in Chan’s ears. 

Minghao didn’t turn his face either. “It’s none of my business.”

“I see.”

“Just don’t turn it into interdivision trouble.”

Chan was not usually observant in things outside the battlefield, often being dubbed as “dense”. But this time the air surrounding the dinner table was so cold that Chan’s skin prickled with unaccustomed sensitivity. 

It’s not rare for Wonwoo and Minghao to argue, they’re infamous for it in the West Pacific fleet. Their colleagues dubbed it as “unresolved sexual tension.” Chan couldn’t really wrap his head around the concept. Their colleagues’ words implied that Wonwoo and Minghao were attracted to each other. So why did they act as if they couldn’t stand the other’s presence? Why couldn’t they just say they fancy one another?

Somehow Chan’s last thought brought an image of Seungkwan’s face to his mind. What’s even startling was how it made Chan’s cheeks feel warm. Was he blushing? Like the way Seungkwan’s soft-looking cheeks would sometimes bloom in pink when their eyes met?

That night Chan went to sleep in a way different from his usual routine. Instead of closing his eyes after repeating the list of tasks he’s supposed to conduct the next day, his consciousness drifted away with his last memory being Seungkwan’s blushing face and the words from Wonwoo and Minghao about going on a date with Seungkwan. 

  
  


******

Chan left the train station and walked the rest of his way home side by side with Seungkwan. It’s what he’d been doing for the past 6 months, but something was different this afternoon. He could feel Seungkwan glancing at him repeatedly from his left, considerably more often than usual. Once Chan asked Seungkwan what’s the matter. Seungkwan’s response was to talk about a new TV drama that everyone in class was talking about, though Seungkwan didn’t seem so interested in it himself. 

Today it was Chan who first said “See you tomorrow” while standing on the street between his and Seungkwan’s apartment, the edges of his lips naturally lifted up as he spoke the familiar words. He expected Seungkwan to reply with the same smile as usual, so he was surprised when Seungkwan gave him a nervous gaze and said, “Would you like to visit?”

“What?”

Chan heard Seungkwan saying something about making sure Chan wouldn't fail (another) Korean Literature quiz but he was distracted by the way Seungkwan’s pretty cheeks turned red. It’s strange how the sight made him feel warm on the face. If he could see his own reflection now he wondered if he looked as red as Seungkwan.

During their walk up Seungkwan’s apartment, somehow Chan became hyper aware of the distance between him and Seungkwan. It was just enough space for their arms and shoulders to not bump into each other, but close enough to feel the warmth radiating from his classmate-slash-target of protection. There’s something in this situation that made Chan’s insides squirming restlessly, but not necessarily in a bad way.

After a few minutes of walking and almost drunk in the unfamiliar sensation, Chan’s awareness was suddenly yanked away from his internal thoughts by the sight of Seungkwan’s door. He immediately grabbed Seungkwan’s right wrist, stopping the latter from inserting his house key.

Chan kept his gaze on the door so he didn’t see Seungkwan’s face, but Seungkwan sounded flustered when he asked, “Something wrong?”

The thing was, there was indeed something wrong. It might be difficult for an honest civilian like Seungkwan to notice, but there were signs of the lock being tampered with. Was it the reason behind Chan’s uneasiness earlier? His senses as a soldier must have been trying to warn him about this. 

Seungkwan spoke again, this time calling Chan’s name with a worried tone. Chan had to think, fast. He quickly ruled out the possibility of Seungkwan’s mother and sister coming home from Thailand. Chan and his team had also been monitoring the condition of Seungkwan’s only family and were sure that they were still in Southeast Asia (Seungkwan’s mother working and his sister attending university since two years ago). Even if they came back to South Korea and lost their spare keys, they wouldn’t have broken into the apartment like this. 

Chan could check the place first but it would risk both his cover and Seungkwan’s safety. Going inside now was out of the question. So before Seungkwan could speak up for the third time, he decided on the least risky option and put it into action. 

“Would you come to my place?” Chan looked at Seungkwan and saw blush returning to the other boy’s cheeks. “I’ve noted the points I don’t understand but forgot the memo,” he quickly added, hoping Seungkwan would buy his excuse. 

Thankfully Seungkwan didn’t seem to see through his lie and agreed to his suggestion. With a quick nod, Chan turned around and walked away from the door, still grabbing Seungkwan by the wrist. Despite an urge to move away from the building as soon as possible, Chan kept an easy pace so he wouldn’t end up dragging Seungkwan behind him, and took the time to pay closer attention to his surroundings. 

“Tangerine basket is broken. Moving Tangerine to Kitchen,” Chan said as quietly as he could. But with Seungkwan right next to him, his words weren’t completely missed.

“What did you say? What about tangerine?” Seungkwan asked with notable confusion. 

Chan waited until he heard a “roger” (Minghao’s voice) from his earpiece before saying, “Kangta said he got boxes of it from his uncle and complained about eating them every single day.” 

Seungkwan let out an understanding hum at Chan’s explanation and continued to talk about their classmate Kangta, mentioning how the boy should worry less about the tangerines and more about him falling asleep on Mrs. Hyemin’s English class for two times already. 

“He won’t make it out alive if he falls asleep the third time,” Seungkwan said with a mix of concern and amusement. “I could swear Mrs. Hyemin was  _ this  _ close to choking him last time. It’s okay if it’s Mr. Jeon. I mean, not that I encourage him to sleep but Mr. Jeon barely bats an eyelid so…” 

Seungkwan kept talking as they got out of Seungkwan’s apartment building and crossed the street to Chan’s, even as they went up the elevator to the 7th floor. Chan was barely listening to Seungkwan’s words, focusing all his senses on making sure they were not being followed. They were almost at Chan’s door when Seungkwan protested.

“Chan,” said Seungkwan with a pull on Chan’s left arm. That’s when Chan finally turned his face to see Seungkwan again.

“Sorry I wasn’t paying attention,” he said, hoping Seungkwan would let him go with a nag and not pry into the reason his focus got scattered.

Instead of a barrage of complaints, Seungkwan blushed once again and said in a rather small voice, “Yeah, that too, but…” The wavy-haired boy casted his gaze downward. Chan followed it and saw where Seungkwan’s right wrist was wrapped with his own fingers. The sight prompted Chan to quickly let go of his hold. 

“Sorry,” Chan said immediately without really knowing why he apologized, nor why he felt embarrassed about it. He heard Seungkwan mumbling “It’s fine.”

They entered Chan’s apartment, which served as his shared living space with Wonwoo and Minghao and also their temporary operation base, although Seungkwan didn’t know that. All that Seungkwan knew was that Chan’s family lived in England and he’s alone in South Korea just like himself. The room was empty of people as Minghao and Wonwoo were now at Seungkwan’s apartment, searching the place for any other signs of intrusion. As expected from his skilled seniors, before leaving their base Wonwoo and Minghao had got rid of any signs of this room being used as soldiers’ station. He couldn't see their work laptop nor Wonwoo’s rifle cases (which he usually took out for maintenance later after dinner). 

Chan didn’t have to worry about Seungkwan’s room right now since Wonwoo and Minghao were sweeping the place, but there was still danger lurking close to Seungkwan. He couldn’t dismiss the possibility of Seungkwan somehow getting a bug planted on his belongings and it would lead them to serious danger. So Chan turned the wheels inside his brain to create a chance for him to investigate Seungkwan’s stuff without Seungkwan knowing.

The solution that he came up with was to say, “Do you want to take a shower?”

Chan shouldn’t have had the time to be amused in this critical situation, but the speed of Seungkwan’s face turning completely red was astonishing. Maybe they should change Seungkwan’s code name from “Tangerine” to “Tomato.”

“Wh-why??” For some reason Seungkwan took a few steps  back as he stumbled on his words. 

“Won’t you feel fresh and teach me better after shower?”

His answer made Seungkwan’s shoulders drop into a more relaxed posture. There’s still slight uncertainty in Seungkwan’s eyes but the wavy-haired boy said, “Oh, okay.”

Relieved that Seungkwan accepted his suggestion, Chan continued, “You can leave your uniform on top of the washing machine. I’ll get you clean clothes.”

Seungkwan spoke his argument against this second suggestion but Chan insisted he’ll feel better with clean clothes after shower. Finally, with a single confused glance towards Chan, Seungkwan agreed and entered the bathroom. Once Chan could hear the sound of water coming out from the shower, he opened the bathroom door and went into the changing space that contained a small overhead cabinet, sink, and washing machine. He didn’t give a glance towards the other door leading to the bathing area, eyes going straight to the clothes folded quite neatly above the washing machine lid. With swift movements he swapped the pile of clothes with his clean shirt and pants then immediately left for the dining table. 

Chan didn’t waste any time to examine Seungkwan’s clothes and the contents of his black backpack. With his experience it took him just a bit longer than 5 minutes to make sure there were no tracking or listening devices, then he went to the entrance to check on Seungkwan’s shoes. All clear. 

But it was too early to relax. Making sure that Seungkwan was still showering (the water was still running), Chan stayed in the short corridor between the entrance and the inner space. He spoke to his hidden microphone, “SVT-13 to SVT-10 and SVT-6, Tangerine is pest-free.”

In a split second he heard Wonwoo’s reply, “SVT-6. Basket is clear. Heading back to Storage.” Since Seungkwan already insisted on helping Chan with Korean Literature, Wonwoo and Minghao couldn’t go back to this room. They had to resort to the apartment next to this one, which was normally only utilized for storing equipment. 

The shower stopped running and Chan returned inside. He took a quick trip to his shared bedroom with Wonwoo and got his textbook and notebook for the Korean Literature subject. When Seungkwan emerged from the bathroom, Chan had the books opened and was bending over them as if he had been reading them the whole time. 

“Thank you for the clothes,” said Seungkwan as he approached the dining table. He was not meeting Chan’s eyes, while Chan couldn’t remove his gaze from Seungkwan. The  wavy-haired boy looked fresh and glowing.  And most importantly, seeing Seungkwan dressed in Chan’s plain black T-shirt and grey sweatpants made Chan feel…. strange. As he often experienced when it came to Seungkwan, Chan couldn’t articulate exactly what he’s feeling and why. All he knew at that moment was the emotion seemed to be some kind of contentment. No idea as to why.

They studied together at the dining table, with Chan sitting on his usual chair facing towards the kitchen. At first Seungkwan sat on Wonwoo’s chair directly across Chan, but as Chan continued to struggle with his readings, Seungkwan moved the chair to the short side of the table so that he’s sitting closer to Chan. Seungkwan’s kindness actually made it even more difficult for Chan to comprehend the contents of his textbook. In this close distance (elbows almost touching), Chan’s nose could register Seungkwan’s after shower odor. Now Seungkwan smelled like the 12,000 KRW body wash Minghao bought at a nearby supermarket and Chan used daily. It’s weird how much this fact affected Chan. Wonwoo and Minghao bathed with the same body wash as him, and even shampoo (except for Minghao who used a different shampoo for his silver-dyed hair) so Chan was used to having another person with the same after-shower aroma. Chan couldn’t fathom what’s different in Seungkwan’s case.

“What happened with your books?” Seungkwan made the remark as he flipped the pages of Chan’s Korean Literature textbook. “Looks like it’s been through war or something.” An apt comment looking at the worn out state of Chan’s book. The cover was bent and crinkled on the edges, and the number of stained pages was probably more than the clean ones.

The words prompted Chan to gulp down his nervousness. He couldn’t tell Seungkwan that he brought the books with him during his occasional missions out of the country and read them on the helicopter or ship before dispatch. “I always bring them when going back to England,” Chan said instead. 

“Oh, by the way,” Seungkwan looked up from the book. His eyes were colored with concern as he said, “How’s your grandma?”

When Chan had to miss school for several days because of his missions, his go-to excuse was visiting his sick grandma in England. The thing about this lie, it always brought a sinking feeling inside Chan’s chest. This had never happened before. Although Chan hadn’t been in many undercover missions (certainly none this long), he had no sentiment towards deception. It’s just one of the tools to conduct missions. Yet somehow when disguising as Lee Chan the South Korean high school student, Chan couldn’t help but feel shame for the fabricated stories he told Seungkwan. It shouldn’t have mattered, right? As long as Boo Seungkwan was safe, Chan’s lies shouldn’t be a concern.

There were too many things Chan failed to understand when dealing with Seungkwan. For now he could only focus on the current situation, and so he opened his mouth and said, “She’s getting stable. Should be fine.” At his words, Seungkwan nodded with a satisfied smile. 

They spent the next 30 minutes going through passages of Korean Literature that Chan had trouble understanding. Seungkwan made some teasing remarks here and there, but he was generally being patient with Chan. He only stopped to ask Chan for a glass of water, so Chan got off his chair and walked to the nearby kitchen. When he went back with two full glasses, he caught Seungkwan turning his body back to face the table, it seemed that he was looking towards the kitchen until just now. Seungkwan said nothing though, not until they read another passage and Seungkwan gulped down half of the water in his glass.

“Do you have a family or friend here?” Seungkwan asked. His eyes were still directed to the book on the table.

Chan managed a “What?” and waited for Seungkwan to elaborate.

“I know you live alone but--” Seungkwan explained. “--I saw a shampoo for colored hair in the bathroom and you seem to have a lot of tableware… too many for one person.” The way Seungkwan kept his gaze on the book suggested that it was only a casual question, but something in his tone told Chan that Seungkwan had more interest than he explicitly showed.

Of course Chan lied but his voice sounded slightly high pitched, Seungkwan might have noticed. And as expected, Seungkwan gave a suspicious gaze towards Chan before directing h is gaze to the TV room behind Chan. “Interesting how you use two mugs for yourself,” Seungkwan commented, still feigning indifference.

There were indeed two mugs on the table in front of the sofa, the moss green belonging to Wonwoo and the white one was Minghao’s. It might not occur to them to erase any signs of them living here, or maybe they didn’t have the time. That’s why even though their weapons and work gadgets were all secured, there were still traces of their daily activities.

“One for water and one for coffee.”

“You shouldn’t leave coffee mugs like that.” Seungkwan said as he stood up from his chair, alarming Chan. “Don’t be lazy to wash them.”

Before Chan could stop him, Seungkwan had left the dining table and approached the table near the TV room sofa. He bent down by his hips to take the mug. But then Seungkwan turned his head to the left and his eyes caught something on the sofa cushion. At first his eyes widened to a comically large size, then quickly changed into a squint as he looked up towards Chan.

“So that’s what you read for fun, huh…” The judgement overflowing from both Seungkwan’s gaze and voice was surprising. Chan had no idea what could be the cause.

Chan found out--with horror--when he walked towards the sofa and looked down. There’s a magazine lying on the seat cushion. It was closed, showing the cover of a well-built man wearing nothing but a deep-blue colored Speedo. Under the man’s elbow was a heart shape with the text “Gay love in summer”, while at the top there was a large title text of “GOOD GUY” with a smaller text under it saying “Magazine for adults.” Chan had no interest in using his free time to lay eyes on such publication, and Minghao had explicitly expressed his disinclination towards buffed men, saying that although he “respects them”, he “would rather not spend a night with men whose pecs are as big as their heads.” So it was clear enough who’s the owner of this magazine.

But Chan couldn’t exactly tell Seungkwan that it belonged to their Social Studies teacher. While he stumbled on his words to find an explanation, Seungkwan spoke up again. “It’s fine, you know. I understand that teenagers need, uhm, helping materials.” Despite the seemingly supportive words, there was obvious disapproval in Seungkwan’s tone and eyes. This got Chan panicking internally. 

And that’s when he heard noises from his earpiece. First there was the dull sound of something being hit, immediately followed by Wonwoo’s whine of protest. Then a short line, just a single “Wait” from Minghao. 

Seconds later, the doorbell rang and successfully made Seungkwan stop squinting at Chan. Chan let out a relieved sigh as he walked to the entrance. Although he already knew who rang the bell, he still carried out the precautionary measure and checked through the peephole, right hand ready to grab the gun hidden under his left arm.

Wonwoo and Minghao stood in front of the door, just as Chan expected. But he still didn’t understand their intention of showing up when Seungkwan was around. He opened the door with a confused look. Minghao gave him a reassuring nod before walking inside. 

“Wow, I’m starving,” Minghao said with a deliberately loud voice as he walked through the entrance and entered the room beyond. “Let’s get cooking and--Oh? Hello there.” The surprised expression on his face was so natural, Chan thought Minghao might have done some acting at a school or something. 

Seungkwan greeted Minghao and introduced himself as Chan’s classmate with a smile. His  face turned into surprise when he saw Wonwoo walking inside. “Mr. Jeon!” 

Wonwoo mirrored the look on Seungkwan’s face. “Boo Seungkwan. Oh, you live around here?” 

“It’s the apartment across the road,” Chan explained to Wonwoo and the latter nodded as if he didn’t already know. 

Seungkwan seemed to buy Wonwoo’s acting, merely exclaiming his amazement on how Chan happened to live in the same apartment building as their Social Studies teacher but not giving further comment on the “coincidence.”

“Since Channie is all by himself, we thought it would be fun to have dinner together every once in a while,” said Minghao as an excuse for him effortlessly navigating himself in the kitchen. “Oops, silly me,” he suddenly turned around and approached Seungkwan with an extended right hand. “I’m Minghao!”

Seungkwan looked slightly awkward as he accepted Minghao’s hand, but the large smile on his face was sincere. The boy offered to help Minghao in the kitchen and tried to convince the older male when the latter gave him a smile and told him to continue studying instead. Ultimately Seungkwan gave up and returned to the dining table while Wonwoo joined Minghao in the kitchen.

The scene unraveling in the kitchen area was not exactly unusual: it was a daily routine for Chan to see Wonwoo and Minghao standing together in the kitchen to prepare for dinner. Usually Wonwoo would chatter about the stuff he saw at school or in the city earlier that day and Minghao would scold him for a dozen (or two dozens) inappropriate remarks Wonwoo made. But despite the constant squabble, they always managed to create appetizing dishes together every night. Not that Chan had many references of a delectable meal, given that the food he consumed most often were leftovers and wild animal meat in Russian battlefield during his early age, and Svalinn base cafeteria meal in recent years. Even so for Chan the dinner that Wonwoo and Minghao made together was something he looked forward to every day in the past 6 months. 

But one thing that differentiate tonight from any other was the fact that their bickering was substantially toned down. There was not a single word of profanity, most probably in consideration of Seungkwan’s presence. It wouldn’t be good to traumatize their protection target, and Wonwoo had to keep his cover as a respectable teacher. So tonight Wonwoo and Minghao chose their words carefully as they civilly engaged in a debate about new government regulation on domestic tourism, hands moving non-stop to prepare their dinner. At some point Chan thought it might be impossible after all for Wonwoo and Minghao to converse without blowing up; he caught Minghao trying to hide his murderous intent behind a smile and Wonwoo’s right hand itching to slam the kitchen table. There must be some kind of miracle that night which enabled the two to finish cooking without a single shout-out or abuse against their kitchen utensils.

“Sorry for making you wait,” Minghao said with a smile as he approached the dining table, carrying a bowl with potholders in his hands. “You must be starving.”

Seungkwan quickly replied that it’s fine and that he’s thankful for the meal. With swift movements he cleared the dining table from their textbooks, leaving space for the bowl Minghao brought and more dinnerware Wonwoo placed afterward. 

When the dinner finally started, Seungkwan commented on how delicious the meal was, but somehow Chan knew that Seungkwan wasn’t being completely honest. He had never reported it to Wonwoo or Minghao because it wasn’t necessary to their mission. The truth was that Chan had never seen Seungkwan eating a tofu dish. The stew for tonight’s dinner had tofu in it and Chan thought Seungkwan would avoid it. Yet Seungkwan kept putting the tofu from his plate into his mouth. Chan could see the grimace Seungkwan tried to hide behind his chewing. 

Maybe it was an attempt to distract himself from the tofu, Seungkwan was actively engaging in conversation with Minghao and Wonwoo who were sitting across them. Even as he took a break from talking to take another bite from his plate, Seungkwan seemed to have his attention towards the two older male. It’s not that Seungkwan was outrightly staring at them, but Chan could see the way his eyes lingered in between their conversations. It’s difficult to discern whether Minghao and Wonwoo noticed or not, but if they did, they’re not showing it. 

Minghao kept an easy smile on his face while Wonwoo was comfortable enough to make a joke about their school principal that got Seungkwan almost choking on his meal.

It was later when their plates were almost clean that Seungkwan asked Minghao, “How long have you and Mr. Jeon been dating?”

The way Wonwoo and Minghao yelled “WHAT????” at the same time with an equally deafening volume made Seungkwan jump on his seat. Both adults immediately apologized to the teenager.

“I’m sorry if I’m wrong,” said Seungkwan after he convinced the adults that he’s fine. “But the way you were in the kitchen and… nevermind…” Seungkwan’s voice trailed off as he tried to salvage the situation. 

Wonwoo gave Seungkwan his “teacher face” and dismissed the topic with a quiet “It’s fine,” while Minghao let out an unnaturally boisterous laugh and waved his hand in what looked like an attempt to reassure Seungkwan. There’s a familiar tension between the two older male, but tonight it was slightly different as they both uncharacteristically blushed.

Seungkwan leaned his body to the right until his cheek almost touched Chan’s, whispering, “I said something I shouldn’t have, didn’t I.” His tone wasn’t questioning, but rather a statement of conviction. Chan tried to not let the close proximity affect him and managed to mumble his agreement.

After dinner, Seungkwan managed to persuade Minghao to let him wash the dishes. Minghao agreed but added that Chan should help too. That’s how Chan ended up standing in front of the sink, throwing the crumbs of rice and little amount of liquid from the tableware to the trash can below, then depositing them into Seungkwan’s hands. When he’s done with cleaning the leftover food, Chan moved to Seungkwan’s right side and started running water on the dishes and utensils that Seungkwan had rubbed with soap. They weren’t attached on the hips as they worked, but the distance between them was close enough for Chan to feel heat on his cheeks. It’s not a bad feeling though. Actually Chan felt somehow soothed at the same time.

As Seungkwan announced that he’s going back to his own apartment, Chan exchanged glances with Wonwoo and Minghao. Chan managed to catch the subtle nod from his colleagues and inferred that it was safe for Seungkwan to go home. So Chan accompanied Seungkwan to the door and sent him off. 

Before leaving Chan’s door, Seungkwan turned around to face Chan, but not quite meeting his eyes. Chan noticed that Seungkwan was holding to the edge of his black shirt--ehm, actually it’s Chan’s shirt that he’s wearing. Point was, Seungkwan seemed nervous for some reason Chan couldn’t understand.

“Uhm…” Seungkwan started with a mumble. Chan watched with confusion, but he didn’t say a word and let the other take his time. 

When Seungkwan finally continued, he lifted his gaze to meet Chan’s eyes. It was obvious that he was struggling to do it, his cheeks going pink, but Seungkwan gave his best.

“I’ll uh… return your shirt tomorrow…”

Again, Chan was lost on why Seungkwan got flustered. But even when he failed to understand, he could feel Seungkwan’s bashfulness rubbing off on him, bringing warmth all over his face.

“Yeah, uhm, sure.” 

After watching Seungkwan disappear from the corridor, Chan closed his eyes for a full three seconds.

One, he saw Seungkwan’s smile.

Two, the signs of break-and-enter at Seungkwan’s place.

Three, a blur image of Seungkwan lying on the ground, blood pooling around his unmoving body. 

Chan opened his eyelids in a snap and deliberately pushed the last image out of his head. He knew that later it’ll come to haunt his mind before sleep anyway, but now he needed to focus on a more urgent matter.

“It’s your fault that Seungkwan misunderstands!” said Minghao’s voice high in pitch with a hint of hysteria. 

As Chan stepped into the dining room, he was greeted with a strong vibe of hostility overflowing from Minghao’s back figure. It was Minghao’s turn to wash the dishes today so he was standing in front of the sink and facing away from the dining table. Chan didn’t have to peek into Minghao’s face to see that the Sergeant Major was fuming. 

Meanwhile, Wonwoo didn’t seem to be intimated by the intimidating aura from Minghao. “So?” he asked in a lazy tone. Wonwoo didn’t even bother to look at Minghao as he replied. Apparently, while Chan was sending Seungkwan off, Wonwoo had taken out one of his rifles and he’s cleaning it on the now empty dining table. His gaze was focused solely on the weapon in his hands.

“Isn’t it what we wanted?” Wonwoo continued with his impassive tone. “Protect our cover.”

“But we didn’t have to act like we’re  _ dating _ .” Minghao spat out the last word as if it was some rotten food. He’s still facing away from the dining table and continued to wipe the plates he just washed with dry cloth.

On the dining table, Wonwoo was still looking at his rifle and his hands were still moving gently to clean the weapon, but Chan noticed that his movements were less smooth. There’s something that made Wonwoo tensed up.

“What,” Wonwoo said as his eyes adamantly stared at his rifle. “You want it to be real?” Wonwoo’s voice was veiled with a challenging tone, yet there’s a hint of nervousness that betrayed the strong facade.

Minghao stopped his hands for a moment, holding a plate and a dry cloth in mid-air. In that short moment Chan deliberated on whether to keep walking across the room and notify his colleagues of his presence, or to just stay rooted on the area between the dining room and the living room. The second option seemed to be more appropriate but Chan didn’t think he could handle this atmosphere any longer. He’d rather stay in a trench in the middle of a battlefield and face a bomb attack than be here.

Before Chan could make a decision, Minghao turned his head towards Chan’s direction, showing a sour expression on his face. Chan had no idea what that look meant but he felt somewhat wronged, as if he was the one invading into a personal conversation instead of being roped into it against his will.

Minghao looked away from Chan then proceeded to put away the items in his hands. Since it was no longer necessary for Chan to hide his presence, he walked with certain steps towards the dining table and took a seat across Wonwoo. If Wonwoo was feeling awkward about being overheard, he didn’t show it.

When Minghao finished cleaning up, he joined them on the table and sat next to Wonwoo. Without turning to his colleague sitting on his right, Minghao said, “Don’t forget that you also smeared Chan’s reputation.”

While Wonwoo merely snorted, Chan squirmed at the reminder. The memory of Seungkwan’s wary gaze entered his mind and it felt depressing. 

As much as he would like to make Wonwoo responsible for leaving his adult magazine out so carelessly, Chan had more pressing matters. “Anyway,” Chan said after clearing his throat. “What did you find?”

At his question, Wonwoo and Minghao quickly changed into work mode. A second ago the two were adamant to avoid looking at each other, but now there was no hesitancy in their movements as they exchanged glances.

When Minghao turned his face back towards Chan, he pressed his lips tight together and signed to Chan using the American Sign Language. “ _ Sweep this room first. _ ” 

Chan didn’t mean it but he couldn’t help but frown at the command. Of course, Chan had checked before entering this room with Seungkwan that there were no signs of break-and-enter. It was outrageous to think that their base was bugged, but he thought that his superior must have a reason and quickly got up from his chair to do as he was ordered to. He scanned the living room and veranda, Wonwoo took care of the room he shared with Chan and the bathroom, while Minghao covered his own room and also the kitchen plus dining room.

Once they confirmed their base was safe, the three of them returned to the same positions on the dining table. 

“We found nothing in Seungkwan’s. Scanned for bugs, explosives, all the basics…” Wonwoo shared with Chan. And yet the older man didn’t seem happy about it. 

Minghao’s expression was as grim as Wonwoo’s. “They got to our cams and deleted the footage between 12 to 6 PM.” Minghao was referring to the cameras they installed on Seungkwan’s front door and the one capturing Seungkwan’s veranda. Even for safety, they wouldn’t plant cameras inside Seungkwan’s apartment and chose to walk on the thin line between thorough protection and invasion of privacy. The plan was to catch intruders going in and out via the door or veranda, but somehow their current opponent hacked into their camera server and obliterated the evidence. Chan didn’t need an explanation on the level of threat this posed to their operation.

“So they deliberately broke into the room, did nothing, and hacked into our system to wipe the footage evidence,” Chan summarized their situation. 

“I’ll have Baum reevaluate and transfer our server,” Minghao announced. He shut his eyelids for one full second, marks of stress painting his features, then stood up from his seat and walked towards his room, probably to contact their fleet’s IT specialist.

Chan was thinking of reassessing their current protection plan while waiting for Minghao’s next instruction, but before he could move to his room, Wonwoo’s voice stopped him.

“They knew this would make us more cautious,” said Wonwoo. Despite his reserved tone, the glint on his eyes was harsh. “They’re confident they can still get to Seungkwan nonetheless.”

Chan understood what Wonwoo was saying. The enemy was mocking them, that was pretty much clear. But Chan found himself getting dumbfounded on hearing Wonwoo’s next words.

“Arrogant. Just like him.”

The way Wonwoo spat the word “him” told Chan who Wonwoo was talking about. Of course, it’s Jeonghan.

Tonight Chan still couldn't find the right words to say to Wonwoo’s obsession on hunting Jeonghan. They’ve never really talked about what Jeonghan’s betrayal really meant for them. Chan was aware that for him, Jeonghan was the father he never had. But what about Wonwoo? As comrades who had been through more than one near-death experience together, Chan found himself unable to ask Wonwoo how he felt. The little voice in Chan’s head told him that it’s because he might have to talk about his own feelings too, and he’s not sure if he knew how to do that. 

So Chan said this instead. “Let’s revise our plan.” He secretly let out a sigh of relief when the stern look on Wonwoo’s face slowly gave way to a neutral expression and the latter agreed to his suggestion. Yet there was still uneasiness clogging his chest, reminding him that sooner or later he would have to stop running away.

That night Chan went to bed right at midnight. It’s his usual schedule for most of the past 6 months, excluding the several occasions he had to leave his main mission for a while and assigned to short missions out of Seoul. He’s never had much problem with sleep, his body already understood that it was a necessary activity for him to survive. He’d fall asleep not long after closing his eyes and he didn’t need any alarm to open his eyes at the time he’s supposed to wake up. 

He didn’t remember ever having dreams during his night rests, or maybe he had them and forgot. But tonight was different. This hallucination entering his mind was too disturbing, he could still see the images vividly even after the horrificness forced his eyes to snap open. Reaching one hand to the bedside table, he turned the watch he placed there earlier so he could see the display screen. It lit up when he tapped a button and showed him the hands pointing to 2:30. 

Chan blinked a few times and tried to regain connection with his senses. That’s when he finally noticed his heavy breathing, exerting his will to calm his body down before he woke up Wonwoo. The two of them shared one bedroom in this base and there had not been any problems of interrupting each other’s rest time. Wonwoo’s sleeping hour was more irregular but Chan never got disturbed even if Wonwoo settled on the single bed next to his in later time at night. He didn’t want to start ruining the peaceful room arrangement they had.

Unfortunately Chan didn’t manage to calm his breathing quick enough. Wonwoo’s voice pierced through the darkness and asked him, “You okay there?”

The question triggered flashes of scenes from the dream Chan had earlier, along with the stabbing sensation that ensued from the visions. A gasp escaped him but Chan quickly regained composure and answered, “Yeah. It’s fine.”

There’s a brief moment of silence for Chan to hope that he managed to convince Wonwoo, but the older man’s voice returned to fill the quiet room.

“Worried about the break in?” 

The way Wonwoo asked without any discernible emotions peeking from his tone made Chan feel as if he was offered a silent promise: no judgement, only open ears. He started to consider whether he should tell Wonwoo about what he saw when his consciousness was suspended. 

The details were starting to go blur in Chan’s memory, but he would never be able to forget the scene where Seungkwan was turning away from him and a split second later a spear lunged through Seungkwan’s chest. It happened several times and each time Chan would feel an excruciating pain in his own chest, as if he and Seungkwan shared a body. 

At first there was no one holding the spear, the weapon moved as if it had a mind of its own. But eventually a figure started to form as the holder, the facial features flowing fluidly into several different faces. Some faces Chan recognized, such as the perpetrator of the first murder Chan saw in his life and also the victim of Chan’s first kill. Some others Chan had never seen before, or at least he thought so. 

When the face turned into Jeonghan’s, Chan was hit with a strong wave of nausea. It got worse when he saw Jeonghan gripping the spear firmly and jabbed through Seungkwan’s body. The stabbing pain in Chan’s chest was magnified tenfold.

Chan didn’t know if he could describe this horrific scene out loud. There's something formidable to it, as if his words would make the nightmare come true. So he simply answered with a short, “Yes.”

He heard Wonwoo humming his acknowledgment and then spoke again. Wonwoo’s voice was firm and sure, easing the restlessness that tried to engulf Chan.

“It wouldn’t be fair of me to tell you not to get your feelings involved. You know I haven’t been keeping my feelings in check… But I need you to trust me.”

The following pause was only brief enough for Wonwoo to take a breath. When he resumed speaking, the certainty in his voice stayed the same. 

“We will protect him. I will do everything I can to make sure of it.”

Even before Wonwoo finished asking the next question, Chan already knew his answer.

“Can I ask you to have faith in me?”

The same as before, Wonwoo’s voice was certain. Only this time it was added with a hint of gentle understanding. As if trying to say that he wouldn’t blame Chan for not believing his words. After all, Wonwoo understood how it is to be betrayed.

Chan thought he didn’t need to look Wonwoo in the eye or observe his gestures to search for signs of deceit. Still with his back lying on the mattress and eyes facing the unlit ceiling, Chan spoke with assurance.

“I believe you.”

  
  


*******

After waking up once last night, Chan resumed his sleep with a memory replay of Seungkwan’s quiet “See you tomorrow” and the blushing face that Seungkwan showed as he left Chan’s apartment door. That and the promise he shared with Wonwoo had ensured him a good night sleep and so Chan opened his eyes the next day at 5 AM with a fresh mind and well rested body. He even had the comfort to appreciate the sunrise in between his morning routine packed with exercise, mission preparation, and notebook review for today’s Chemistry quiz. 

Chan and Wonwoo left the base at 7:15, separating ways at the hall as Wonwoo took the back exit and headed for a different route to school. Even though Seungkwan already found out that Wonwoo lived in the same building, they decided it’s better for Wonwoo to keep some distance like it had been for the past 6 months. 

There was nothing special when they parted ways. Wonwoo took off as usual and Chan didn’t feel the need to look for reassurance regarding last night’s promise. They had reviewed their revised protection plan with Minghao before going out the door and Chan wasn’t worried.

His confidence was slightly shaken when he got out of his apartment and saw Seungkwan coming out from the building across. Seeing Seungkwan’s face reminded him of what he could lose and how strongly he wanted to protect it. But the fear that started to creep in between his ribs was quickly brushed away by Wonwoo’s word of promise replaying inside Chan’s head, and a smile from Seungkwan that warmed his heart more than the morning’s sunrise.

**Author's Note:**

> If you’ve watched/read Full Metal Panic! you must’ve realized that the inspirations are
> 
> Chan: Sagara Sousuke  
> Wonhao sexual tension: Kurz Weber x Melissa Mao  
> Svalinn : Mithril  
> Seungkwan: Chidori Kaname  
> Jeonghan: Kalinin


End file.
